Facial hair Removal

I have lot of unwanted hair on my chin and neck. I have been doing laser ND-Yag since about 2 years, but i have not seen good results until now. I have completed more than 10 -11 sittings. I have light brown skin with black color hair. Please suggest me with some good laser type I should switch. Or is there something else I should consider.
Please suggest.
I have enquired from other laser centers, they are using IPL / Diode laser. On researching about these 2 lasers I found good results and reviews, has anyone tried it?
Why did ND-yag not work on me?

Are you male or female? How coarse is your hair? Lasers, especially Nd:YAGs are not very effective on female facial hair unless it is very coarse. If you are female and the hairs are not coarse, electrolysis is a better option for you.

Nd:YAG lasers are the safest lasers for brown skin. What is your skin type? IV, V, or VI? Which YAG laser was used? What were the settings? How much training and experience did your technician have?

IPL's are not lasers and are too risky to use on darker skin tones. A diode, if it is the LightSheer is safe to use on type IV and V IF the tech is highly experienced.

I am a female. Alexandrite (Candela) - ND-YAd was used on me with settings of 12ss 22f
My skin type is between IV and V, to be more precise it would be type V. I do have coarse hair. I have lot of hair all around neck and chin area, so electrolysis i assume will be too time consuming. Please suggest what should I go for? As I am dealing with this more than 3 yrs now, and I am seriously looking for some results.

You have been getting laser treatments for 2 years???? Wow, if you had gotten electrolysis the hair would have been permanently removed within 6 months at the latest or even less time.

A lady i know who does electrolysis gets a lot of people who spent a lot of money on laser treatments and saw no results. She has done men's backs in a year so chin neck area wouldn't take long to do.

Hormonal areas like the face/neck do take longer than non hormonal areas like under arms, legs etc, but don't take overly long to do, provided you get the hairs removed while they are in the growth cycles (when there's a bulb attached to the hair when it comes out). Also if the electrolosis person actually electricutes the hair correctly and the hair comes out on it's own. You shouldn't feel actual 'pulling' of the hair when they use the tweezer to 'lift' it out.

If i were you i would find someone reliable to do electrolysis and if you haven't seen definite results by a few months then they aren't doing it correctly. I was getting my bikini area done and after 9 months saw no results, then years later i met the lady who i spoke of at the start of my post and i decided to give it another go and i was seeing results very fast.

There are 3 types of hair removal lasers. Alexandrites, diodes, and Nd:YAG. The Candela alexandrite (GentleLASE) is not a Nd:YAG and is not safe for type V skin. The spot size is way to small and the fluence was way to low to do any real damage to the hair. Candela does make a Nd:YAG laser, it's called the GentleYAG. They also have a combo alexandrite/Nd:YAG laser called the GentleMAX. With any Candela laser 12mm spot size is too small. The largest spot size is 18mm and that is what should have been used.

Electrolysis is really not too time consuming. Especially considering you've been dealing with this for 3 years. Unfortunately, electrolysis will take more than 6 months. Because hairs grow in cycles, it takes at least 9-12 months for all the hairs to surface at least once. Like laser, electrolysis is most effective on hairs that are in the active (anagen) phase, so consistency in scheduling treatments is key. Electrologists do no electrocute hair. There are 3 modalities, galvanic, thermolysis, and the blend (galvanic and thermolysis combined.) Galvanic causes a chemical decomposition in the follicle while thermolysis is heat cauterization.

A lot of coarse hair on the chin and neck could be an indication of a hormone imbalance. You may want to have your doctor check your hormones and also request a c-peptide test (insulin resistance).

Choice has given you some good professional tips. So good to hear you will give it a go.

My tips are only from what i've had done myself and from being taught a lot about the hands on from the lady who did mine. You will know whether they are good as the hairs should simply 'slide' out after being zapped. You should NOT feel any definite tugging or pulling or definite tweezing of the hairs. They will most probably use a tweezer to pull the hair out, but not actually tweezing or pulling on it like when you pluck your eyebrows, just to slide it out. If they are definitely pulling it out then it's a waste of time.

Once they have done an area in your first appointment, then roughly about the 2 week mark is a good time. Ask them what phase the hairs are in, growing or nongrowing. The lady who i know who performs this would get her clients in approx every 2 weeks. She had a few girls who had serious growth on the face/neck area, made worse by plucking or shaving. I don't recall how long she said it took her, but then again she was a fast worker and i know for sure she had them hair free in under 12 months. There may have been the odd stray which needed removing, but the final strays are not that obvious.

You should start seeing results after the first few goes. The hairs will grow back finer and softer. Whatever you do, do NOT pluck them inbetween appointments. If you are embarrased you can bleach or trim, but do not wax or tweeze.

Ask them whether they will do a trial patch, just so that you can see how they do it, what it feels like and whether the person performing the electrolysis is doing it right or simply tweezing the hairs. Some times they might put the electric current setting on way too low. It's better up a bit higher, more efficient and it works first go without them having to repeated zaps.

Years and years ago i had electrolysis and after 9 months there were zero results. That put me off, but i didn't know what to expect. When i gave it another go with the lady who i became friends with i was amazed how if done properly you are definitely hair free forever.

After care is also important. Tea tree oil is a great disinfectant and then applying aloe vera gel is calming and diminishes any redness. Do not wash the area with water same day, wait until the following morning as this can cause infection.

Actually, I do know a couple electrologists in Phoenix, but I'm not comfortable posting their information, and I'm not really sure it's allowed. I'd have to re-read the posting rules. Most electrologists offer free consultations and a sample treatment. This allows the electrologist to evaluate your situation and for you to evaluate the electrologist. Consult with as many electrologists as possible. Sometimes it takes the electrologist 2 or 3 treatments, trial and error, to find the parameters that work best for your skin, so feedback from you is important.

Very few electrologists are in business for the money. It's not that lucrative of a profession. It's more likely that you may come across electrologists who have not developed the necessary skills. Unfortunately, AZ is an unregulated state. So continuing education is not required. There are professional associations that offer additional certification. Being a member of an association is a plus, as the associations offer continuing education, and other sources of education. The largest national associations are SCMHR, Society for Clinical and Medical Hair Removal and AEA, American Electrology Association.